Africa's watching you, `Big Brother'

Reality show is the highest-rated television program ever on the continent and is serving as an electronic diplomat in tackling touchy issues

July 20, 2003|By Emily Wax, The Washington Post.

KAMPALA, Uganda — Forget Africa's civil wars, its brutal dictators and its worries about trade, genetically modified food and free and fair elections. Africa has a new obsession in an unlikely form: a reality television show called "Big Brother Africa."

The real-time, voyeuristic, 24-hour program is the highest-rated show in the history of African television. It has farmers and financial workers racing to television sets at home, bars, restaurants and rural health clinics to watch, especially the daily highlights.

The show began by confining a dozen English-speaking Africans in their 20s, from different countries, in one big house in South Africa. Each week a housemate is voted out by viewers; the last one to remain after 106 days will win $100,000.

The show is the talk of the continent. It's been praised for getting Africans to question national stereotypes and criticized for "shower hour," as well as scenes of cuddling and kissing in bed that seem to condone casual sex in the midst of Africa's AIDS pandemic. Some viewers say it has done more to unite them than the Cold War, independence or the pan-African movement. The producers say 30 million people are watching.

"It's great for Africa," Alan Nsubuga, 31, shouted over the booming television broadcast at the Venue bar in Kampala. "There is so much tribalism and stereotypes that we Africans have about each other. This show is changing all that. We have never had a chance to get to know each other, since most of us don't travel."

Along with the drama--Bayo Okoh, a Nigerian, is gaining weight and is grumpy; a flirty South African, Abby Plaatjes, is in love with Gaetano Juko Kagwa, a distant Ugandan--there are bunk beds and an outdoor Jacuzzi. And there is "shower hour," where the camera dances over the hard-bodied housemates inside the bathroom.

In Africa, TV stations typically import shows from the United States, beaming in pictures of life far from the realities on the continent. Nigeria has a soap-opera industry, but the shows are not watched widely.

"People are so desperate for something African to watch, with Africans from all different countries," said Erik van Veen, the chief marketing officer for MTN, the cell phone company that coordinates the text messages sent in by viewers that appear at the bottom of the television screen.

At first, the show was criticized for featuring only elite urban Africans. It was going to be shown only to subscribers of the $60-a-month cable television service. That's more than twice what the average African makes in 30 days. Only about 4 percent of Africans have televisions, although many people watch on communal sets.

So DStv, in a move to broaden viewership and encourage people to buy television sets, allowed local stations to pick up the show and air a half-hour of highlights each evening.

The housemates talked a little about their stereotypes of each another early in the show. Gaetano, for instance, upset Bayo, a Nigerian economist, by mentioning Nigerians' reputation for pulling scams. That prompted pro-Bayo text messages from annoyed Nigerians.

With the program entering the seventh week of its 15-week run, the searching social chatter has quieted. But the show is prompting conversations about a variety of issues that are important in Africa.

"I don't think Gaetano should be having sex with Abby," said Maria Mutonjo, a 12-year-old student. "He does not know her HIV status!"